


One Bird, Two Birds.

by Unuora



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M, Post-Game AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-14
Updated: 2013-03-14
Packaged: 2017-12-05 06:12:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/719783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unuora/pseuds/Unuora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're all a little broken, you think, and just because you lost a few pieces of your heart along the way doesn't mean you can't find new ones. After all, when one door closes another opens.<br/>We all closed the door on what used to be, and maybe one day you'll find what we all need to be whole again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Bird, Two Birds.

**Author's Note:**

> Um. Okay, I originally wrote most of this in... September. It took me a good six months to convince myself that yes, this is a good idea, and yes, this is good enough to be posted. Here we go, I'm ready to rock and roll.  
> This is extremely influenced by A Bird Flies Out by Deb Talan who happens to be my favorite singer ever.  
> Let's do this, I hope you enjoy!

You breathe, in then out. It’s like it’s the first breath you’ve taken in a century, and you feel like you tumbled head first into the coldest ocean after the hottest day of your life.

You’re so shocked that your arms shake; you’re so relieved that your head spins.

When the ten of you land on your new world, at first none of you say anything. You’re nothing more than a group of broken, weary and unwilling soldiers, and silence has always been a kinder sympathizer than the truth. 

But this time, the news is good. The war is over, and your wings can spread themselves again.

The silence shocked nervousness runs deep. When a flock of squawking birds emerge over the forest of trees in a black fog of noise, you all jump. Out of the corner of your eye you watch every head jerk up in fast, urgent fear, and as every hand hover over their weapons. 

The birds pass over your heads in a flow of wings and elegance, and you slowly relax. Ten others follow suit, the silhouettes of birds reflecting in their eyes.

When they pass, the tension is different, at a lower caliber, but still relentless. Jade breaks it first with little snort-giggles that make her lean forward with her gun still loosely in her right hand. You and your teammate’s eyes shift towards her in quiet confusion. Her face scrunches up mirthfully and held back giggles morph into relieved whoops of laughter. You feel a smile creep onto your face and before long you’re laughing with your sister, loud sounds of amusement echoing back at you, and it’s almost like the trees are laughing with you.

That, of course, in your uneasy and addled brain, just makes everything even funnier. 

Roxy and Jake follow not too long after, and seconds blend into minutes and you’re all laughing breathlessly, leaning on each other for support, heads bowed in glee. 

Tears are coming to your eyes, and when you move the hand that isn’t braced against Rose’s shoulder to wipe at your eyes, you catch a glance of Karkat steadying himself on Kanaya, red faced with happiness and excitement. You smile at him, and he smiles back. He has a nice smile.

With time you can spare, the happy chorus of voices fade. It leaves you all in a lively bliss that makes you realize that you have a new live to start, and with that, comes hope.

A calm, relaxed state passes over you for some time. Your thoughts tick by leisurely, but you know the tight pile of survivors you’ve created in the middle of a wide field in a wider world needs to thrive and create a life. To do that, you need a plan.

Karkat seems to be ahead of you, though. He stands up, tries vainly to bring the mask of a scowl back onto his face, and turns to you all. 

Unquestionably, you all look to him. He speaks.

“As you all have probably gathered, we made it. Don’t ask me how, but we did, and now we’re here and stuck in this blank empty slate of another worthless world. It begs the question of what we do now, and I’m sure that none of you want my imbecilic ass to push you all around as we start our gruesomely tragic lives over again, so just give me a second and just listen to me.

“First of all, congratulations. We’re ten out of the twenty assholes who stumbled into this cruel, sardonic mess of a game, and the fact that we all made it back in semi-recognizable pieces calls for celebration. I am regretful to say that through our incompetence, wherever that blame may lay, it led to the death of half our party. As I’m sure all of you are dreadfully aware of, all trolls besides Kanaya, Gamzee and I have passed, as well as two members of the human’s collaborative team, their respective ancestors and those who were too connected in the game to leave it. Despite how insufferable those individuals might have been, I suggest that we give them the proper acknowledgement for their efforts in the Game, because why not include one last kick in the teeth for whoever invented that piece of shit. 

“And, although it is questionable as to whether we should include those impossibly frustrating creatures that us trolls refer to as our ancestors onto our death roster, but we’ll go with it for the sentiment. It hasn’t been proven, but just as Rose predicted there is a high chance that we have lost connection to most Game-based articles, and chances are that is including dream bubbles. Thusly, those who are dead stay dead. If you were holding any sentiment or relationships with the previously deceased, please let them go and save yourself the misery.”

Karkat takes a deep, shuttering breath, in and out. You know he has a lot of problems talking about those you’ve lost. It shakes him down into his bones, and you wonder if he’ll stop, but he doesn’t. He breathes in a quick breath before starting in again. Everyone is in apt attention; you doubt anyone even noticed the hitch.

“That aside, we need to focus on our efforts on creating something closely resembling a shelter, before we all perish horribly and end up joining our dead friends. We need to pay attention to our individual talents. Dirk and Jade are the ones who have extraordinary knowledge of technology, and I’m calling on that to first off, figure out if you can rig the alchemizer around the Game’s endgame restrictions so we can have more supplies, and second, to try to create technology for things like heat, running water, medicine, and food. Until they manage to fabricate such a thing, yes, we will in fact have to survive on the land without electricity and prepackaged food. I know it’s hard, but you all can survive. But we do want this world to be comfortable, so I’m trusting you two with important jobs, and I have more than enough faith in the both of you, no matter how insufferably annoying you both are.

“To create the previously mentioned shelter, we will need supplies unless Jade and Dirk can get the alchemizer working instantaneously, which is highly unlikely as nothing would ever be that goddamned easy. I’m imagining that that may take a few nights at the least, maybe a little more if we fuck around. Until then, Kanaya’s got a chainsaw, so I hesitantly suggest that she uses is for its intended purpose opposed to slicing people to bits left and right. Gamzee, as an obnoxiously large highblood he is, is more than capable to carry the logs that Kanaya cuts back to camp. We will also need wood for fire because though it might be a warm day, the climate here is unknown and questionable, along with the fact that we need to boil water to insure that it’s safe. I’m imagining that Roxy can manage that, by bringing the smaller branches back to camp and lighting a fire. No matter how inebriated she may be, I am confident she can manage that much.

“Next, we need a camp to live in. We need someone to scope out a somewhat suitable place for us to live, someplace safe from flooding and other natural disasters but still in a close reach of a water source and a food source. I’m suggesting Jake does this, as he’s been the one who’s been exposed to the fury of nature more than all of us combined. I would suggest Jade come along, but even as the Witch of Space and crazy teleporty powers, she needs to focus on one task and that task is equally as important. This said, I’m requesting Rose come along on this exciting adventure as she is the most tactical person here. And with any hope, her seer powers will pick up any potential threats that that area could be connected to. I will also be trusting her to pick up any traces of hazardous indigenous species. We’re all on edge, and I want to rightfully assure everyone that we will not be under attack, so we don’t accidently cut each other to pieces.

“Expanding on that, I suggest that John and I scope the land for previously mentioned threats, so we’re sure that our location is secure enough. We should locate alternative locations for us to stay in an emergency, and to discover enough landmarks to make something similar to a map. John has the luxury of flight, but unfortunately I’m as ground bound as a fucking wriggler. I find it an extremely bad idea for someone, especially one as ridiculously stupid as John, to wander alone when we are unaware of the dangers. As I can’t find any talents of mine that will actually prove to be helpful in this revitalizing situation, I think the best task I could take up would be being John’s safety buddy so he doesn’t do something inane. 

“But, speaking of John. As we all know, he is far more of a likeable person than me and my obnoxious loud mouth, so I am requesting that he ‘friendleads’ our wonderful mangy group into getting our work done in a more supportive way than I can manage. Basically, what I am evasively getting at is that I don’t want to force myself into being your leader if you don’t wish for me to be so. I have been viciously thrown out of this position before, and now that we’re together I’m finding it increasingly apparent that not all of you are quite as incompetent as I first thought you were. I was kinda expecting for whatever kind of government we were going to create here it would be something that had more than just one person yelling at everyone; someone who could listen to suggestions of others and change their plans accordingly. Rose and John have already been elected as leaders previously and they did decently well at, so therefore are my suggestions to everyone. I think it should be everyone’s choice who should be the prominent figure here.” 

He sighs heavily, his face relaxing a little. His eyes shift to meet yours, but you pretend not to notice.

“That’s it. That’s all I’m going to say, and that is my extent of leading I’ll do from now on.”

Everyone’s silent. Possibly registering what he said, but probably seeing how this plans to play out. He shifts to move away, but you stick your arm up high in a childish way, like a student back on Earth. You give Karkat a little awkward, humorous smile, and he snorts stupidly, “Yeah?” He questions you.

“Can I say something?” You ask in a happy, chirpy voice that has him giving you a bland look. 

“Don’t ask me, I’m not your leader, ask them,” he says as he widely gestures to the little crowd of people he’s standing in front of. They’re all looking at you, most of them with smirking, slickly amused expressions. You make an open, questioning gesture, and you watch as eight heads nod knowingly. 

You stand up in front of them in a dramatic flourish, your face split with a wide grin. You’re totally going to outdo Karkat in stunning the audience, you’ll show him.

“So, I think you all also need to be congratulated for bearing Karkat’s speech, because, as always, he never knows when enough is enough. On and on, but that is definitely his unique skill! Maybe he could yell at our new world until it cooperates.” This earns a few wry smiles and a light brush of red across Karkat’s face.

“I think everything that he said was right, though. Following through on what he said would be ideal, and we’ll just see what happens when we get there. When it comes to leaders, he’s right as well. We need someone to listen to everyone’s opinion. But I’m not proposing that I be the leader! I don’t think I’m cut out for that. There is someone who is, though, and he just proved it to us once again. Karkat’s always been the best at his leadering thing, so if I get a say in this, I think that Karkat should stay our wonderful ragey, stubby horned leader until otherwise decided. Who’s with me?”

Your smile only grows when you watch everyone’s hand rise in agreement, one by one. You relish in the self-conscious blush that spreads across Karkat’s face. Gamzee stands up in a lazy, slinking fashion to ruffle Karkat’s hair. He laughs in this soft, honking way before bending down slightly to say something to Karkat, an impish smile set on his face. Whatever he says makes Karkat blush even harder.

“Well, that settles it!” You say happily. 

Soon, people start to flit away to go to the jobs that they were assigned. Rose and Karkat talk eagerly to work out little details, and you can’t help but notice that Jake’s standing next to her, nearly jumping up and down in excitement. Of course he’d be enthusiastic to start exploring.

You can’t deny you are as well. You begin to get antsy waiting for Karkat to finish talking; the occasional enthused exclamations from your team members and the sudden noises of life around you are doing little to help your anticipation.

So you float. You float up high, into the bright wash of the morning sun and the sea of sky that spreads itself above you. You lose yourself in the immeasurable beauty that’s painted in blue and green streaks across the canvas you now call your home.

When you finally fly back down to the little clearing that you all started in, Karkat’s the only one who hasn’t left yet. Jade and Dirk are working nosily a little ways away, and there’s a pile of stuff next to them which seems to be the mass collection of supplies that everyone had with them. Most of it is junk food and half drunken water bottles, but there’s some first aid supplies and Jade’s refrigerator lunchbox full of healthier foods. You quickly drop off your scarce amount of things before moving back to Karkat.

He glares at you, scowling in a way that he doesn’t mean. “Are you ready yet or do you still have some fucking around to do? I clearly have all day to wait here as you dawdle about as everyone else gets actual work done.”

The smile that spreads across your face is at first good intentioned, but mischievous at heart. You spin around, rushing towards him so that you appear right behind him. He jumps, and you giggle.

“Nice speech. You did a good job,” you say, just loud enough for him to hear, but no one else. Before he can respond, you grab him by the arms and lift off into the deep blue sky.

You laugh, and he mindlessly screams. It’s all echoed back to you in a blur of noise. He doesn’t stop, even as you hover gently, high above the dots of trees below you.  
You’re hardly even listening to him. He’s still in your arms, tense fists closed around the fabric of your shirt.

“I’m not going to drop you, don’t worry so much,” you say softly, laughter still etched in your voice and the wind nearly steals your words. Your honesty must’ve been revealed in those words because he calms down. You hold him close, keeping his warmth close as the wind ripples your clothing and hair.

You gently, ever so gently, place your chin on the crown of his head, and you breathe; your gentle breaths indistinguishable from the flow of air around you. 

He’s still tense in your arms, as you drift silently through the free air above your camp. He doesn’t struggle in your arms, but you know he’s not ready, he’s not ready. So, without hesitance, you let the wind take over his flight.

At first, he twitches, trying to grab back onto you as you carefully detach his comforting arms from yours. When he doesn’t fall, he relaxes. It only takes a moment before he’s there floating beside you looking more than a little stunned. He’s gained some awkward grace in the air, limbs settled in a position for fluid motion, but body untrained and nervous. You want to teach him to fly. You wonder if he’d let you.

Karkat shoots something crossed between a glare and a questioning glance. He has the most expressive face, you decide. 

“If this is some sort of convoluted halfassed ploy to get me killed in a seemingly unintentional accident it’s not going to work,” he hisses, though he’s still lacking the venom his words usually hold. You wonder briefly if the words that slip from his teeth are genuine or just a futile defense.

You roll your eyes at him, sky blue orbs that match the backdrop of color behind you. “I,” you say pointedly, emphasizing it with a swish of your arm, “do not command the Wind, dude. The Wind is her own, albeit very flighty, being. She’s much too much of a stickler to go along with any of my very awesome and hilarious trickster plans, let alone anything deadly.” 

In response, the wind blows behind you, pushing your windsock hoodie over your eyes in a heavy huff of air that seems far too intentional for your liking. You spent a single shocked moment under the cover of your hood, your arm still extended outward. You push back your hood with an annoyed flick of your wrist, eyes set in a glare that betrays the way you know the Wind has no physical being. Your scorn goes unnoticed.

Fortunately, Karkat finds it rather hilarious. The pseudo frown that he’d struggled with to keep on his face finally slipped away, his eyes and cheeks scrunching up in glee. He tried to stifle it, but the happy little snort escaped his lips anyways. In an instant, your brief annoyance flits away, just silently marveling at the curves of his face.

On any other day you’d be amazed he was so easily amused, but not today. Everyone’s so hyped up on the emotion rush, you honestly can’t blame him. The giddy excitement isn’t relenting, so you might as well enjoy it. The time for mourning is later.  
“C’mon,” you say, tipping yourself back against the blank nothingness behind you, as if you’re reclining on a chair, “I thought it was oh so important to get moving, as we were supposed to ‘actually get some fucking work done’ quote unquote.”

He huffs at you, trying to smother the remains of a smile. You watch him through the crook of your elbow. It makes a strange sight; his awkward midair hovering complete with the failing placidity of the truly enthralled against the breathtaking mountainsides far below. 

“Well, that isn’t my fault. I don’t fly, you monumental moron. Wave our arms around or whatever imbecilic thing you do and get us exploring if you’re suddenly exuberating with anticipation for this menial task.” His stance has flicked back to nervous, hunchbacked and protective. You realize with a belated epiphany that he’s afraid, but not only that, but inexperienced. 

“Oh, shoot, sorry,” You say, sitting up abruptly, “I don’t have to control your flight, you--“ There was a chirp, and then another. A rustle of leaves, and then more chirps and squawks. Your eyes shift from side to side trying to place the noise, and then there’s a flutter of tiny wings and you figure it out.

You’re gathering a crowd, you realize. The both of you have drifted far enough down to meet the tops of the taller trees, and on them, a rainbow of feathered visitors. Little flecks of color dot the green expanse of the trees around you. When you turn to them, tearing your attention completely from Karkat and his unease, they chirp at you again. It slowly becomes an encouraging chorus of song. 

One daring little bird, painted like a sunset, flutters onto your head. Curious eyes meet curious eyes, and you watch entrapped in the little twitching motions of its head as it hops on your hair. It quickly moves to peck lightly at the bridge of your nose, not hard enough to hurt, just enough to explore. You smirk, puffing a gentle breath up at the bird in retaliation. It chirrups quietly, shaking its body violently, it’s beautiful array of feathers puffing out in the motion. You giggle slightly, and it takes flight again, landing a few feet away.

Karkat’s hovering there, still frozen in the air, but he says nothing. He’s watching the birds wordlessly, as if in awe. You know you’ve never seen birds quite as stunning as these, alien and strange in their colors and variety, yet achingly familiar. 

Your eyes manage to find Karkat again, and you hesitantly begin where you left off before, your mind still fluttering about with the birds. “I, uh. As I was saying, I don’t control your ability to fly. The Wind might listen to me because I’m the player of Breath, but if I asked her to listen to you for a while, I’m sure she would. “

You give a quiet, questioning hum to the sky. A soft wisp of answering wind passes your ears, and you know it’s fine.

“I guess just say what you want out loud until you get the hang of it, and then just thought would be fine. So, go on. Ask her something.” 

He looks hesitant, his attempt at suaveness disregarded by inexperience. You pretend you don’t hear the slight stutter in his voice when he speaks. “Uh, go forward,” he commands awkwardly. In a single, quick moment he jolts forward like lightning, unceremoniously crashing into the branches a ways away.

You laugh uproariously, moving into a midair crunch to hold your stomach as Karkat forces his way out of the branches in a furious cloud of green leaves. You just barely manage to force yourself into mild amusement by the time he’s done irately brushing off twigs and leaves from himself. Despite your efforts, he still glares at you. 

“What the fuck,” he says with exuberance, “was that? I thought you said the Wind wasn’t going to try to brain me on any trees or anything morbid like that.”

No matter how hard you try, no amount of lip biting is going to keep you from smiling at his baffled face. “All I said was she wouldn’t go along with my plans, man, I said absolutely nothing about being brained on trees. I think,” you hum, “this was her own ‘prank’ of hers. Try asking politely and saying ‘please’. I know it’s hard, but sure you can manage.”

“Fuck you,” he hisses, “fuck you on a rusty spike, you’re just making this difficult.”

“It’s not me,” you remind him gleefully. You tell him to try it again, and he does.

Eventually he gets the hang of it. In a spectacular inelegance, he makes his handful of mistakes, spectacular mistakes. His train of thought is fleeting and fickle, and when his consistent thought pattern determines his flight path, this is a deadly thing. His attention towards interesting landmarks mean that he is going to fly towards those interesting landmarks at a more or less breakneck speed.

His misadventures led you to discover a lot of astounding things, like clear ponds that glittered with reflecting crystals at the bottom, or little frogs and lizards that glowed when you touched them.

You never really got around to the whole mapmaking thing, and before you knew it the sun was bringing long, dark shadows across the land below you. You quickly summarize that you spent all day doing nothing, and decide to take a break in your doing-nothing.

You find a little ledge that serves as a perfect place to see everything below, and to watch the pinkish clouds flutter by. Karkat’s a little below you, examining some sort of plant closely, and you call to him to come up. He does so silently, his feet landing softly a little ways away from your thigh.

The sun is painting bright watercolor marks across the sky, making the crystal ponds below you glow like flashing Christmas lights. You sit quietly with him. Neither of you move, it’s all peaceful.

You’ve known each other’s feelings for what seemed like forever. You know, all too well, that there was a flicker of longing in his chest just as there was a flood in yours. You care for him indefinitely, and he cares for you as well.

In the quiet, blissful twilight he reaches for your hand, and you entwine your fingers without saying anything. He moves to kiss you, gentle lips on yours, kissing you passionately, and that’s the only proof you need for his affections towards you. 

He is fragile and broken, and you swear that’s the only reason why it hurts so badly when you whisper, “God, I love you,” and he says nothing back. The broken need to heal, you remind yourself, and you just want to help him.

Those are the reasons why when he tugs his hand away awkwardly, you stand up in flourish, and say nothing about it. Those reasons are why you chatter on in a tone happier than you feel, to draw a smile onto his face, and to forget the unease you both dwelled in.

Despite that, none of it stops you from feeling the tingling of his lips on yours the achingly long trip back to camp, or the way you feel sick with the desire to touch him.

Luckily, for not only you, but him as well, today is only the beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Gghg, I still feel like I should've paraphrased Karkat's rambling. But. I have no idea. I also totally did not intend for the word count to be 4321. Pretty cool.  
> Uh, if I get any readers, I'll try not to take six months to convince myself to update. : P I hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading!!! c:


End file.
